Explore Spain on its high-speed trains. AVE Cities - AVEXPERIENCE

Would you like to travel comfortably by train between Madrid and Valencia in just 95 minutes? And between Madrid and Barcelona in two and a half hours? You'll be able to do so thanks to Spain's extensive network of high-speed trains (AVE). When you opt to take these trains you'll be eligible for discounts on cultural visits, and you'll also be able to see some of the country's most important tourist destinations in record time. Visitors are highly recommended to make the most of this service.

If you like this style of travel, you're sure to be interested in the initiative Avexperience, which offers a new way of discovering Spain, by high-speed train: a mode of transport that is fast, safe and sustainable, and in which the journey itself becomes part of a unique experience. Avexperience offers total flexibility in your schedules, allowing you to design a tailor-made journey where you decide at what pace you'd like to visit these outstanding destinations: Alicante, Antequera, Barcelona, Calatayud, Ciudad Real, Córdoba, Cuenca, Lleida, Madrid, Malaga, Puertollano, Segovia, Sevilla, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Villanueva de Córdoba - Los Pedroches, Villena, and Zaragoza. You'll be able to explore at length a vast heritage featuring all the historic, cultural, gastronomic and leisure attractions of a country that is guaranteed to capture your heart.Below is a list of all the lines available depending on where you want to travel:

AVE high-speed train connections

Madrid - Seville line

Connection time: from 90 minutes.Stops: Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.Madrid, the capital of Spain, is connected by high-speed train with Seville, in the very heart of Andalusia. In under two and a half hours you can go from the most famous monuments in cosmopolitan Madrid –such as the Royal Palace and the Prado Museum– to enjoy the gastronomic delights and the charm of Seville's most beautiful sites like the towers of the Giralda and Torre del Oro.This same line makes various intermediate stops. The first is in Ciudad Real, a land that was famously immortalised in Cervantes' work 'Don Quixote'. The second stop is Puertollano, and the third is Cordoba, whose historical centre is a World Heritage site, and where you'll be able to see famous monuments such as the Great Mosque.

Barcelona - Seville line

Connection time: from 5 hours 15 minutes.Stops: Camp de Tarragona - Lleida - Zaragoza - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.You can travel from Barcelona to Seville in just over five hours on the AVE high-speed train. Imagine the possibilities! For example, you can wake up beside the Sagrada Familia church in the morning and enjoy a walk round the María Luisa Park in Seville in the evening. The train also stops at Camp de Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Cordoba.

Valencia - Seville line

Connection time: from 4 hours.Stops: Cuenca - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.You can also travel to Seville from Valencia on the AVE high-speed train. This connection enables you to travel between these two important tourism destinations in around four hours.

Madrid - Malaga line

Connection time: from 80 minutes.Stops:Cordoba - Puente Genil - Antequera - Malaga.Also in Andalusia, just 150 kilometres from Cordoba, the AVE train will take you from Madrid to Malaga, where you can marvel at its Roman theatre. Renfe (the company that operates the AVE) offers promotions such as reduced-rate visits to one of the most famous museums in Malaga – the Picasso Museum – when you show your train ticket.

Barcelona - Malaga line

Connection time: from 5 hours 50 minutesStops: Camp de Tarragona - Zaragoza - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Córdoba - Puente Genil - Antequera - Malaga.You can also travel to Malaga from Barcelona on the AVE high-speed train. This will enable you go practically from one tip of the Spanish Mediterranean coast to the other in just over five hours and a half.

Things to remember

The AVE connections and the new, constantly developing railway infrastructure allow other short-duration connections, such as Madrid - Toledo (30 minutes). For more information, check out the section ‘Travel around Spain by train’.

The AVE trains offer a full array of services, as well as a firm commitment to punctuality. A range of restaurant options, café, films, music channels, entertainment activities for children, free Internet connection (available soon), special group prices, discounts at museums, and a full timetable of services with guaranteed punctuality... are just some of the things to enjoy on your journey.

Now there is no excuse not to come and explore Spain –while you enjoy its stunning landscapes from the train window. Don't think twice –come with your friends or family and take the train. The AVE railway network is constantly being expanded, and more and more cities are being added to the list.